Case Study prepared during Marketing Internship under Prof. Sameer Mathur,IIM Lucknow

1. Precision Toothbrush Case Analysis

2. Marketing Strategy for launching
new toothbrush,Colgate Precision in
the market
Problem Statement

3. Colgate Oral
Care Business
● World market leader in oral care
products
● Extensive overseas reach
● Held 43% of world toothpaste
market
● Held 17% of world toothbrush
market
● 1991-1995 plan for launching new
products

4. US Toothbrush
Market
Us Toothbrush Market

5. The Precision
Toothbrush
● A technical innovation by colgate
● Effective in plaque removal
● Three different length bristle for
reaching the far end in teeth
● 35% more effective in plaque
removal
● Effective in gum protection

6. Product Segmentation
Value
More Economic
Professional
Better Quality
Super Premium
Improved Design
$1.23
$1.80-$
2.00
$2.2-$2.70
Average Pricing

7. Consumer
Analysis
● Broadly classifying there are three
consumers groups:-
○ Therapeutic Brushers
○ Cosmetic Brushers
○ Uninvolved Brushers
● Each segment has different
expectations from toothbrushes

8. ● Clearly company can attract the
majority i.e of therapeutic users
● Research indicates that baby boom
generation concerned about health
of their gums
● Willing to pay premium price
● With good marketing and pricing
strategy 33% indifferent users can
be attracted
Consumer
Research Analysis

9. Competitor
Analysis ● Oral-B,Johnson & Johnson
,Procter & Gamble major
competitors in super
premium segment
● Other brands offering
coupons,refunds etc to get
edge
● Relative expenditure on
advertisement is more

10. Strengths
● Leader in oral care products
● Highest volume market share of
22.2%
● Extensive overseas reach
● Active R&D department

11. Weakness
● Introduction of Precision may
cannibalize the sales of Colgate
Plus by 20%
● Media expenditure of CP is
significantly less than that of rivals
● Lack of dental endorsement
● Brands like Oral-B and J&J have
large dollar market share

12. Opportunities
● Upcoming generations are
becoming more health
conscious
● Good advertisement and dentist
endorsement can attract the
customers who make unplanned
purchases
● Super premium segment can
help in increasing market shares
● Extensive competition in Super
Premium segment because of lot
of products in this segment
● Competitors launching new
products with additional features
● Incentives given by other brand
to consumers
Threats

13. Market
Positioning

14. Mainstream Positioning
● Will make a broader appeal of
being the best most effective
brush in the market
● CP can have increase in market
share by 10%
● Increase in sales
● Large amount of revenue will be
generated
● Could cause diversion in marketing
fund from other products like
Colgate Plus towards itself
● Could cause cannibalization of
market share of Colgate Plus by
about 20%
● Result in inadequate supply which
could adversely affect brand
Benefits Risks

15. Niche Positioning
● CP could command price higher
than Oral-B
● Target consumers more open to
pay higher prices
● Can be later broadened to
mainstream position
● Less erosion of market share of
other toothbrush products of CP
● Less revenue will be generated
as compared to mainstream
positioning
● Net income increase much
lesser than mainstream
positioning
● Will reach to limited section of
consumers
Benefits Risks

16. 1st Year Estimates

17. Branding
What comes first colgate or precision??

18. Colgate Precision Precision Colgate
● Estimated 20% cannibalization of
Colgate Plus
● Will have the support of well
established brand of colgate
● Build brand equity of colgate
● Unchanged effect on the sales of Colgate
Plus
● Product could sustain on its own
I would recommend to launch it as Precision by colgate

19. Advertisement
and Promotion

20. ● CP should show research results in their advertisement concluding
colgate precision to be 35% better than other toothbrushes in
plaque removal
● Conduct surveys with some sample audience and show their
results
● Heir top dentists to endorse their brand
● Invest more in marketing sector to compete with rivals without
reducing marketing budget of colgate plus

21. Recommendations
● Niche positioning of the Precision
toothbrush
● Why??
○ Can be launched at higher cost
than its competitors
○ Initially demand can be met by
the current capacity of the
company
○ Reduce cannibalization of
Colgate Plus
○ No SKU drops
● After an year CP can broaden it
to mainstream position
● Why??
○ Provide time for increasing
production
○ Bring more revenue to
company
○ Product will gain recognition
and loyalty
Initially at Launch Future Aspects

22. Thank You!!

23. Disclaimer
Created by Sarthak Chaturvedi,NIT Surathkal,during Marketing
Internship under Prof.Sameer Mathur,IIM Lucknow